When a child stopped breathing in her kindergarten class, teacher Karen Lanehart knew she had to act fast.

While noticing the child was choking during lunch and unable to make a sound, the Parkview Christian Academy teacher in Yorkville relied on her CPR and First Aid training.

Lanehart immediately performed abdominal thrusts until the child’s airway was cleared and normal breathing resumed.

On Oct. 8, Lanehart was honored with a Lifesaving Award by the American Red Cross during a ceremony at the school.

Students, faculty, and staff joined the rescued child and her parents to support Lanehart in receiving the award. Levi Gotte, a Red Cross instructor who taught Lanehart during a CPR and First Aid course also was honored.

“At first, I was scared when it happened, but then I remembered I had just taken the training two months earlier,” Lanehart said, describing the April 7 events in a release by the American Red Cross. “I realized I was prepared to handle it. The training helped me stay calm, and it was exactly like we practiced. I’m so grateful I had that training so I could act when it mattered most.”

Laura Muriello, executive director for the Illinois River Valley Chapter of the Red Cross, said she was extremely proud to present the award to Lanehart.

“Her actions exemplify our mission to help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies,” Muriello said in the release.

Red Cross training gives people the knowledge and skills to act in an emergency to save a life, the release stated.

Online and in-person skills session and classroom courses are available at redcross.org/takeaclass.